Bengali actor-turned-politician Subhadra Mukherjee has resigned from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over the violence in Delhi, where at least 43 people were killed in clashes between supporters and opponents of the Citizenship Amendment Act, PTI reported.

Mukherjee, who joined BJP in 2013, said she cannot be in a party that has leaders such as Anurag Thakur and Kapil Mishra. She sent her resignation to West Bengal BJP chief Dilip Ghosh. “If that doesn’t work, I will personally go and submit my resignation letter to him,” Mukherjee said.

She said she joined the party with a lot of hope and optimism. “But in recent years, I have noticed that things are not going the right way,” the politician added. “I felt that a sense of hatred and judging people by their religion is taking over the ideology of BJP. Why should brothers cut each other’s throats in the name of religion? I was disturbed after hearing the news of deaths of over 40 people. After giving several thoughts, I have decided to quit.”

Banerjee said she did not want to be associated with “this brand of politics” where people are judged by their religion and not as fellow humans. She also questioned why no action was taken by the party against Thakur and Mishra’s inflammatory speeches. “What is going on,” she asked. “The visuals of riot have shaken me completely. I thought I should not be in a party which is selective in taking action against its own party leaders.”

Banerjee added that she was not against the citizenship law, but criticised its misuse. “It is an outstanding decision to provide citizenship to those who are coming from neighbouring countries out of distress,” she said. “But in the name of giving citizenship to them, why are you playing with the lives of each and every Indian. Why all of a sudden we need to prove our citizenship? I condemned this move. I think they are killing humanity and giving birth to demons. Such a move will create a sense of insecurity among the people. This will lead to unrest not only in the national capital but also in the entire country.”

BJP leader Shamik Bhattacharya said that the party has never “diluted” its ideology over any matter and hoped Banerjee would reconsider her decision. “We have spoken on the issue of differentiating between refugees and infiltrators since the ’50s,” he added. “We also believe in the inclusiveness of India and the violence in Delhi was not the handiwork of the BJP.”